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Rating

7Overall

8
Importance

7
Innovation

6
Style

Recommendation

Closing the prosperity gaps across its members is a high priority of the European Union’s economic integration. Current evidence indicates that the newly admitted states in Central and Eastern Europe have robustly gained on the older EU members. But the difference between the richest and poorest of the original 12 nations is wider than it was at the inception of the euro. Economist Daniel Gros, writing in a dry prose style, offers a granular analysis of EU convergence prospects. getAbstract recommends this expert assessment to consultants and analysts.

In this summary, you will learn

What goals the European Union has for economic integration,

What convergence patterns emerged in a 2018 study and

What the prospects are for future progress.

About the Author

Daniel Gros is the director of the Center for European Policy Studies.

Summary

One of the European Union’s founding objectives in bringing together countries, capital, goods and services into a single market with a common currency was to even out income and economic growth between its wealthier and poorer members. A study conducted in 2018 documents uneven progress in this sought-after equalization. Distinct groups of countries have moved in different directions. Per capita income in the new EU nations in Central and Eastern Europe grew relative to that of the older EU members, while income disparities increased among the 12 original euro-area “Northern and Southern states” (the EA12).